Massospora

Massospora is a genus of fungi in the Entomophthoraceae family, within the order Entomophthorales of the Zygomycota.^[3][4][5] This has been supported by molecular phylogenetic analysis (Gryganskyi et al. 2012).^[6]

Massospora
Massospora cicadina
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Fungi
Division:	Entomophthoromycota
Class:	Entomophthoromycetes
Order:	Entomophthorales
Family:	Entomophthoraceae
Genus:	Massospora Peck, 1879[1][2]
Type species
Massospora cicadina Peck (1879)

It includes more than a dozen obligate, sexually transmissible pathogenic species that infect (and kill) adult gregarious cicadas (Hemiptera) worldwide. At least two species are known to produce psychoactive compounds during infection:^[7][8] M. cicadina is known to produce cathinone; M. platypediae or M. levispora produces psilocybin.^[9]

Named in 1879 by the American botanist Charles Horton Peck (1833–1917).^[1]

The genus name of Massospora was derived from two words in the Greek, masso which means 'to grind' and spora for 'spore'. This then describes the complete disintegration of the host-insect's internal tissues eventually leading to a (described by the author as), "pulverulent mass of spores within" that can be seen after the terminal parts of the abdomen fall off.

Species

As accepted by Species Fungorum:^[10]

• Massospora carinetae R.S. Soper (1974)
• Massospora cicadettae R.S. Soper (1981)
• Massospora cicadina Peck (1878)
• Massospora diceroproctae R.S. Soper (1974)
• Massospora diminuta R.S. Soper (1974)
• Massospora dorisianae R.S. Soper (1974)
• Massospora fidicinae R.S. Soper (1974)
• Massospora levispora R.S. Soper (1963)
• Massospora ocypetes R.S. Soper (1974)
• Massospora pahariae R.S. Soper (1981)
• Massospora platypediae R.S. Soper (1974)
• Massospora spinosa Cif., A.A. Machado & Vittal (1956)
• Massospora tettigatis R.S. Soper (1974)

Former species:^[10]

• M. agrotidis (Sorokīn) Jacz. & P.A. Jacz (1931) = Sorosporella agrotidis, Hypocreales family
• M. cleoni Wize (1904) = Entomophthora cleoni, Entomophthoraceae
• M. richteri Bres. & Staritz (1892) = Entomophthora richteri, Entomophthoraceae
• M. staritzii Bres. (1892) = Entomophthora staritzii, Entomophthoraceae
• M. tipulae J.P. Porter (1942) = Zoophthora porteri, Entomophthoraceae
• M. uvella (Krass.) Jacz. & P.A. Jacz (1931) = Sorosporella uvella, Hypocreales

References

1. Peck, C. H. 1879. Report of the Botanist. In: Thirty-First Annual Report on the New York State Museum of Natural History by the Regents of the University of the State of New York, pp. 19-60.
2. "Massospora names - Encyclopedia of Life". eol.org.
3. "Massospora Peck". GBIF. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
4. "Taxonomy browser (Massospora)". National Center for Biotechnology Information. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
5. Elya, Carolyn; De Fine Licht, Henrik H. (12 November 2021). "The genus Entomophthora: bringing the insect destroyers into the twenty-first century &". IMA Fungus. 12 (34): 34. doi:10.1186/s43008-021-00084-w. PMC 8588673. PMID 34763728.
6. Gryganskyi AP, Humber RA, Smith ME et al (2012) Molecular phylogeny of the Entomophthoromycota. Mol Phylogenet Evol 65:682–694. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2012.07.026
7. Macias, Angie M. (May 2020). "Evolutionary relationships among Massospora spp. (Entomophthorales), obligate pathogens of cicadas". Mycologia. 112 (6): 1060–1074. doi:10.1080/00275514.2020.1742033. PMID 32412847. S2CID 218659452.
8. Cooley, John R.; Marshall, David C.; Hill, Kathy B. R. (2018-01-23). "A specialized fungal parasite (Massospora cicadina) hijacks the sexual signals of periodical cicadas (Hemiptera: Cicadidae: Magicicada)". Scientific Reports. 8 (1): 1432. Bibcode:2018NatSR...8.1432C. doi:10.1038/s41598-018-19813-0. PMC 5780379. PMID 29362478.
9. Boyce, Greg R.; Gluck-Thaler, Emile; Slot, Jason C.; Stajich, Jason E.; Davis, William J.; James, Tim Y.; Cooley, John R.; Panaccione, Daniel G.; Eilenberg, Jørgen; De Fine Licht, Henrik H.; Macias, Angie M.; Berger, Matthew C.; Wickert, Kristen L.; Stauder, Cameron M.; Spahr, Ellie J.; Maust, Matthew D.; Metheny, Amy M.; Simon, Chris; Kritsky, Gene; Hodge, Kathie T.; Humber, Richard A.; Gullion, Terry; Short, Dylan P.G.; Kijimoto, Teiya; Mozgai, Dan; Arguedas, Nidia; Kasson, Matt T. (October 2019). "Psychoactive plant- and mushroom-associated alkaloids from two behavior modifying cicada pathogens". Fungal Ecology. 41: 147–164. bioRxiv 10.1101/375105. doi:10.1016/j.funeco.2019.06.002.
10. "Massospora - Search Page". www.speciesfungorum.org. Species Fungorum. Retrieved 28 December 2022.